by Marcel Lhulier
I have chosen to analyze Nosferatu directed by F.W. Murnau using the lens of critical disability studies. The silent movie opens with two men talking to one another and it seems that one of the men is depicted to be “creepier” than the other man that is present. The attributes that make him appear like this are his bushy eyebrows and his hunched over posture. Immediately, the character who is presented as a type of real estate agent, Knock, can be analyzed under this lens. Knock’s creepy character seems to come from his lack of sanity. This character is shown as a crippled man and although he is not a vampire, he is still used as another creepy character in the movie simply because of his disabilities and because of his “unusual” appearance.
When examining Nosferatu, the vampire, we see that he is depicted as a monster. His physical features include his bald head, pale skin, crooked posture, and large nose. The vampire has exaggerated physical features that make him have a “scarier” appearance than any other characters in the movie such as the Renfield character, Thomas. For example, when Thomas first comes across Count Orlock, he initially is scared by him and his unusual appearance. The film shows prejudice towards disabled people as it is implying or depicting people as monsters by exaggerating their physical features in the film.
Count Orlock is an adaptation of the usual Count Dracula that we have seen before. But in Nosferatu, this vampire is not the traditional seductive type. Instead, He is intended to be repulsive to the audience while also maintaining a sense of seduction as he represents a sense underlying sexuality and desire. Both Knock and Count Orlock are characters in this film that are seen as outsiders and monsters. This film is a great example to analyze under the lens of CDS because of how the director decides to portray the “different” looking and crippled characters as monsters to use their appearances to instill fear in the audience.
Pt. 2
Horror Films have been around for as long as we can remember and have always had a particular audience that have allowed the genre to remain relatively popular. Although there are many different types of horror movies, they all contain common themes of unusual looking characters and scenes that seem to peak their audiences attention. Many horror movies rely on a hypothetical plot that puts a character in a situation where they must escape and survive or overcome whatever obstacles are presented to them. These conditions that the characters are put in are usually bleak and are situations that the vast majority of people will never experience. Our culture likes to put themselves in the position of the main character during these movies and this is what the audience finds so entertaining. There are many different interpretations of horror, especially nowadays. Horror movies revolve around an antagonist and protagonist whoever it may be. Many people consider the feeling of fear with entertainment because there is a sense of protection knowing that it is simply a movie or a haunted house or whatever it may be. Therefore people like to put themselves in the position of being scared because they know this feeling is only temporary and it won’t cause any actual physical harm to them.
I also analyzed a similar movie, Frankenstein, using the Critical Disability Studies. In this movie too, they exaggerated the facial and body features to make the creature look “not normal”. I agree that these depictions instill fear in people and is also responsible for the prejudices and discriminations that people with disability still face today.
I analyzed the same movie and touched on the topic of CDS. I can also agree with the fact that the overly exaggerated features to make him look scarier and I believe the point of this was to make him stand out in showing why his character was feared in the movie the actions of him biting people were seen as a “plague”. Referring to him being a nuisance to society.